I’ve taken my justifiable share of notes as a senior coordinator (and former assistant and coordinator). For many of my profession to date, I’ve taken notes in not less than half of the conferences I’ve been in. At roughly one web page of notes per assembly, 20 conferences every week for 5 years, that’s … quite a bit.
Many people making use of for jobs on this title vary could roll their eyes once they view one more job description stating: “Take notes throughout conferences to trace vital dialogue factors and subsequent steps.” Whereas it could appear tedious and, frankly, boring, assembly minutes are literally important and guarantee time spent assembly face-to-face isn’t in useless.
Personally, taking assembly minutes has considerably improved my consideration to element. Once I sit in on dozens of conferences every week, there are occasions when my consideration span and reminiscence aren’t as sturdy, so it’s useful to have an energetic activity that retains me centered and engaged.
Desk of Contents
What Are Assembly Minutes?
Assembly minutes are a proper abstract of a very powerful agenda factors, choices, takeaways, and subsequent steps in a gathering. They’re sometimes emailed post-meeting to assist crew members recall consequential info for future reference, together with any duties assigned to them. These notes can be useful for these unable to affix the assembly.
If, like me, you’re the one assigned to take assembly minutes, it’s best to view it as a chance. In my expertise, it forces you to pay attention intently to the dialog and determine what info is most vital for the crew to recall later.
Taking assembly minutes may allow you to higher perceive complicated ideas and processes. Analysis has discovered that taking notes entails cognitive processing and creates new neural pathways, which promote a higher understanding of the matters and higher retention of knowledge over time.
Learn on for a few of my suggestions and methods for taking the absolute best notes.
The best way to Take Assembly Minutes
- Assign somebody to take the notes.
- Create and share an agenda.
- Format the doc as merely as doable.
- Summarize, don’t transcribe.
- Embody related supplies.
- Seize motion gadgets.
- Jot down attendees.
- Re-read and revise.
1. Assign somebody to take the notes.
The easiest way to begin is, in fact, to have somebody to take the assembly minutes. There are a couple of methods to handle this course of.
First, you might have a devoted one that all the time takes the observe, like an assistant or coordinator. This individual could also be you. If that’s the case, whats up and welcome!
Second, you might select to rotate who takes notes every assembly. It is a nice technique because it relieves a few of the load from a person who could in any other case must take notes in a number of conferences. This additionally helps present various note-taking kinds, making the assembly minutes extra attention-grabbing.
Lastly, you’ll be able to assign a number of people to take notes in every assembly, after which their notes are mixed. That is useful as one individual could decide up on and report one thing one other particular person missed. My crew sometimes makes use of this technique, which I’ve discovered extremely helpful because it additionally offers a security blanket if somebody has technical difficulties or can not be a part of the assembly.
On this information, I’ll share suggestions for cases the place one individual (you!) is the only real note-taker.
2. Create and share an agenda.
There’s nothing extra irritating than becoming a member of a gathering the place nobody is aware of what they’re meant to debate. Points like this will result in being inefficient and unproductive, so it’s useful to be proactive by sharing an agenda.
I create a reside, operating doc that I repeatedly replace with each assembly prevalence. This Google doc is linked within the assembly invite so everybody can entry it on their very own time.
The doc consists of the title of the assembly sequence, the newest or upcoming assembly date, and a bit on the high with the agenda, which helps information my later note-taking. I arrange the agenda as follows:
I primarily full the agenda by emailing the assembly invite attendee checklist someday earlier than the assembly and asking if anybody has any agenda gadgets to debate. Crew members straight e-mail me their matters, and I fill them out within the above desk. The desk lives within the shared Google Doc so everybody can view the data and put together accordingly.
One other solution to collect agenda gadgets is to remind people at the start of a brand new assembly sequence to fill in agenda gadgets within the shared Google Doc on a rolling foundation earlier than every assembly. Whereas this places extra energy in attendees’ arms, it additionally leaves extra probability for folks to overlook to enter agenda gadgets altogether.
For that reason, I like to recommend reaching out straight and inquiring about agenda gadgets, particularly for recurring conferences. To recollect to do that, I put a recurring reminder on my calendar the day earlier than every assembly.
This technique additionally makes it extra evident if there are not any agenda gadgets for an prevalence and if the assembly might be canceled. In spite of everything, assembly hygiene is prime.
3. Format the doc as merely as doable.
It’s time for the assembly, and also you’re able to seize the assembly minutes! Earlier than you get began, take into account how you’ll arrange the notes.
As talked about, I sometimes create a reside, operating Google Doc for recurring conferences that may be added onto throughout every assembly prevalence. Nevertheless, this isn’t how I take notes for myself.
I take into account myself an erratic private note-taker, and I sometimes jot issues down in my iOS Notes app. Whereas I discover a technique within the insanity, I respect that this note-taking fashion isn’t for everybody. That’s why I adopted a cleaner, extra organized assembly minute construction in Google Docs.
The notes come beneath the agenda and subsequent steps (which I’ll get to later). It’s organized one thing like this:
This format works for me and my crew as a result of we will instantly see probably the most crucial info. The assembly date, which is very vital for recurring conferences, is listed on the high of every part of notes. The precise assembly minutes have bolded headlines and are written in a bulleted checklist.
Professional tip: To avoid wasting time creating a brand new assembly minutes construction, use a pre-existing assembly minutes template to maintain your notes clear and constant.
4. Summarize, don’t transcribe.
To not toot my very own horn, however I’ve a superb ear (15 years of musical coaching will do this) and an impeccable reminiscence, which makes me a powerful note-taker. Nevertheless, these two qualities additionally make it straightforward to jot down assembly minutes verbatim.
However folks don’t sometimes wish to learn a word-for-word assembly transcription if they will’t be a part of — and particularly in the event that they do. It’s straightforward to repeat precisely what was mentioned, but it surely takes a intelligent, attentive thoughts to notice what’s most significant.
My technique is to repeat down assembly minutes naturally and later undergo and pare them down. If you happen to’d slightly not do the additional work, you’ll be able to summarize from the get-go. Nevertheless, you don’t wish to unintentionally miss a few of the dialogue when recording a very powerful info.
How greatest to summarize and never transcribe a gathering is determined by your business and the sorts of conferences you conduct. In my conferences at Nickelodeon, I seek for key phrases that alert me that the data being shared is brand-new to some people and, thus, essential to recollect.
I additionally report the outcomes of any debates or votes, comparable to if we vote on our favourite model of a brand new sequence’s key artwork, and any broad bulletins or impending modifications that should be applied into processes shifting ahead, such because the crew hiring a brand new company.
5. Embody related supplies.
Whereas some conferences are strictly verbal, there are occasions when supplies get shared. For instance, somebody could share a slide presentation, doc, artistic property, or a hyperlink.
First, examine with the crew member that the supplies they shared are okay to be shared post-meeting for others to view on their very own time. In spite of everything, some supplies could also be extremely confidential.
If you happen to get the go-ahead, embrace related supplies all through the notes. I like to recommend importing PDFs and different paperwork, displays, or video recordsdata to your organization’s most popular collaboration instrument and together with a hyperlink to the supplies within the acceptable part of the assembly minutes.
6. Seize motion gadgets.
Most conferences I attend finish with motion gadgets, barring the uncommon few during which we resolve all the pieces reside (the most effective!). Motion gadgets are one of the vital vital issues I seize in assembly minutes, as these subsequent steps are sometimes the results of the dialog we had within the assembly.
In my expertise, motion gadgets are additionally usually simply forgotten, which is why capturing them within the assembly minutes is crucial.
When summarizing notes, I pay attention for any asks or gives to deal with one thing past the assembly time. For instance, somebody may say, “Swetha, are you able to examine with [Team Member] to see when the temporary is due?” and another person could later add, “I’ll search out that video file and ship it to you by early subsequent week!”
I all the time report these sorts of statements in my assembly minutes with clear homeowners, verb directives, and due dates. Nevertheless, I additionally embrace them in a separate part beneath the agenda and above the assembly minutes close to the highest of the reside doc, as seen beneath:
7. Jot down attendees.
Itemizing attendees for recurring conferences could seem repetitive, however this level is very useful for one-off conferences. Whereas folks can often view all invitees on the calendar invite, not everybody will essentially be a part of.
Create a listing on the high of the assembly minutes itemizing these planning to attend the decision. If somebody lets you understand they will’t attend the assembly, embrace this info, too. That approach, if somebody had an agenda merchandise that particularly utilized to an absent particular person, they will take away it and talk about it offline to save lots of time. For instance:
This additionally helps information the subsequent steps post-meeting, as a activity could also be assigned to somebody who wasn’t current and is unaware of their motion merchandise.
8. Re-read and revise.
Taking the assembly minutes in the course of the assembly is barely half the battle. Making ready them to be shared afterward is a vital step.
If, like me, you favor to take notes in a fashion that will solely be understandable to your self, I like to recommend initially recording the assembly minutes in an area aside from the reside, shared Google Doc.
I’ve a separate, non-public Google Doc structured the identical approach the place I can take notes freely. Put up-meeting, I exploit this doc to re-read the notes with recent eyes and make revisions.
I examine for spelling and grammatical errors and re-phrase factors in clear topic + verb + object sentence buildings (i.e., [Team Member] shared three variations of the trailer for approval). I additionally make content-based edits. Some components might be minimize down whereas others might be eliminated altogether.
After the notes are in a superb place, I copy them into the shared doc. Then, I add new motion gadgets to the Subsequent Steps part and replace the standing of current gadgets. Lastly, I e-mail the assembly minutes or alert attendees that the notes can be found within the shared doc.
This detailed information ought to kickstart your subsequent spherical of assembly minutes, however proceed studying for a template to make the method much more seamless.
Assembly Minutes Template
I’ve shared parts of my assembly minutes template all through the earlier part, however you’ll discover my full template beneath. I’ve used this for all assembly note-taking at Nickelodeon over the past couple of years, and I hope it offers a seamless organizational construction for you, too.
[Company Logo or Name]
Assembly Identify:
Date:
Assembly Agenda
Agenda Merchandise | Proprietor |
Subsequent Steps
Proprietor | Motion Merchandise | Due Date | Standing |
Not began | |||
In progress | |||
Paused | |||
Full |
Assembly Minutes
Date: Attended: Declined: |
Agenda Merchandise 1: Agenda Merchandise 2: Agenda Merchandise 3: Agenda Merchandise 4: |
Date: Attended: Declined: |
Agenda Merchandise 1: Agenda Merchandise 2: Agenda Merchandise 3: Agenda Merchandise 4: |
If you happen to favor a downloadable template that works throughout numerous file codecs, try our free assembly minutes template.
Obtain HubSpot’s assembly minutes template without cost.
Assembly Minutes Finest Practices
1. Put together forward of time.
I admit I’ve often discovered myself responsible of being underprepared for conferences. Assembly minute preparation usually will get pushed to the again burner when my bandwidth is low. Nevertheless, because the recorder of assembly minutes, it’s important to enter conferences realizing the assembly objective, matters of debate, and key choices to be made.
Assembly preparation solely takes a couple of minutes, which might make an enormous distinction later. Put aside time to e-mail attendees about agenda gadgets the day past, and arrange the assembly minutes doc with the assembly date, attendees, and agenda gadgets, so that you just’re prepared for go time.
2. Perceive how your crew prefers assembly minutes to be taken.
Whereas I favor taking notes on the facet throughout a gathering and revising them later to be shared, I’ve additionally needed to take reside assembly notes in video conferencing calls. This implies I’d share my display screen with the assembly notes doc and take notes for all attendees to see.
I do know — this sounds daunting. Whereas there may be some added stress with this technique, it does have some execs. It helps me keep much more vigilant in the course of the name so I don’t miss any urgent info. As well as, it helps me use appropriate spelling and grammar and write clear, concise notes from the get-go, slightly than writing in shorthand and adapting the language later.
Lastly, I sometimes don’t must do any work post-meeting in addition to emailing the notes to attendees. Since I used to be on high of taking outward-facing notes in the course of the assembly, I possible gained’t want to return and make revisions.
Discover out out of your superior which technique is most popular. It will not be as efficient for in-person conferences or these during which folks share their very own screens. Nevertheless, it’s good to set expectations along with your supervisor and perceive how public or non-public your note-taking will likely be.
3. Write the way you’d wish to learn.
When doubtful, I’m inclined to write down greater than much less. In spite of everything, it’s higher to incorporate all the pieces than miss one thing, proper?
Incorrect. The entire level of assembly minutes is that it’s a fast, straightforward approach for attendees to refresh their reminiscence on what occurred and, for many who couldn’t make it, to study probably the most noteworthy info they missed. If you happen to embrace an excessive amount of of the dialog, folks will in all probability not even trouble studying the assembly minutes and as a substitute ask you for a verbal recount.
When revising assembly minutes to be shared, I all the time ask myself, “What would I wish to learn?” I’d need the notes to be lower than one web page lengthy (ideally half a web page for a half-hour assembly). I’d need the sentences to be brief and bullets to be restricted underneath a single header. And I’d need vital particulars to be bolded, italicized, highlighted, or underlined.
Keep in mind what you want to see as a receiver of assembly minutes and apply these methods to your notes. This may enhance your consideration to element and talent to type by way of copious quantities of knowledge for the important thing factors.
4. Distribute minutes promptly.
Sometimes, there may be an urgency to conferences — therefore the explanation they have been held. Urgent motion gadgets and deadlines could come up that should be tackled with some immediacy.
That’s why I all the time ship assembly minutes as quickly as doable after the assembly. The deadlines I often set for myself are:
- For conferences earlier than midday: Ship out notes by the top of the day.
- For conferences after midday: Ship out notes inside 24 hours.
After all, you might have extra urgent duties that may delay assembly observe revision, group, and distribution. These ought to take priority so long as you clear the necessity for flexibility and extra time on the assembly minutes along with your superior.
5. Retailer assembly notes in an simply accessible house.
As talked about, I maintain all assembly minutes for a gathering sequence inside the similar rolling Google Doc, linked within the calendar invite. I like to recommend this technique as a result of it’s straightforward for me and different attendees to entry the doc frequently.
You may as well use a special cloud-based storage service in case your group doesn’t use Google Drive. In any other case, if you happen to don’t have entry to a distant cloud server, you might maintain the assembly minutes in a downloaded file hooked up to the assembly invite. This may be a final resort, as this requires extra handbook labor — you would want to repeatedly replace the doc, delete the outdated one, and fix the brand new model with each assembly prevalence.
The secret’s giving attendees quick access to the assembly minutes in order that they don’t must immediate you. This creates an environment friendly, self-motivated workflow.
A Assembly Minutes Professional in Minutes
As a long-time assembly minutes taker, I’ve come to understand how vital this function is to a crew. We regularly lament the sheer variety of conferences we attend and the way tough it’s to maintain observe of debate factors and motion gadgets.
Because the recorder of assembly minutes, you make it simpler for attendees to fret much less about remembering the dialogue and to give attention to the collaboration. However I do know taking assembly minutes isn’t any easy job, so I hope the information and templates above assist alleviate the stress on you.
I need this information that will help you see the importance of what you do and the way helpful it’s to others whereas providing you very important steps, greatest practices, and template concepts that may take your notes from good to excellent.
